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Nuzthos
Nuzthos, often referred to as the Pain Artist, is one of the major deities on the world of Sprin'Torel. It is said that Nuzthos' cruelty was so horrid that the gods preferred to let him be part of the pantheon than allow him to rule over any of the hells. As such, they were able to minimise how much pain he inflicts onto everyone else around the world. In spite of this, there are plenty of people who worship him, believing that his is the true path. While society tends to frown on them, these people are not as shunned as the people who may worship other members of the Shadow Pantheon. Worshipers Those who worship Nuzthos tend to show their worship in one of two ways - either by torturing others or by torturing themselves. Those who do the former tend to seek out employment where they can do so without needing to worry about social perception. The latter are more rejected by society, however, given that their worship tends to be more zealous than anyone would like. Clerics Nuzthos' clerics tend to gain a perverse pleasure in causing as much harm to their enemies, believing that it is what Nuzthos would want of them. While those who work in tandem with these clerics may have an issue with this behaviour, it is hard to deny that this tends to be an effective way of dealing with their enemies. In spite of this, these clerics tend to have dangerous opinions surrounding pain, seeing healing as a perversion to his will. Orders ; The Penitent : Unlike many members of The Penitent, Nuzthos' followers don't care about the general suffering of the world around them. Instead, they yearn only for their own pain. This behaviour tends to make many of the other members of The Penitent shy away from them, but some see this as an opportunity, choosing to use these beliefs to aid in their own misery. ; The Order of the Blade : Though each of Nuzthos' followers believe that pain is key to worshiping him, this sect believe that the best way to worship Nuzthos is by torturing people as much as they can without killing them. Though this is seen as inhumane by most standards, this group doesn't care but often chooses to torture more dangerous creatures in an attempt to appease the rest of society. Rites As with all other religions, the worship of Nuzthos involves many rituals and rites. Many of these involve sacrificial worship and torture, but there are some for inflicting intense suffering onto their enemies. Below is an example of a prayer to Nuzthos: "Nuzthos, Pain Artist, Master of Infliction, bring your pain onto my enemies. May they feel the cold touch of the blade along their skin. May their insides be inflamed with boils and cuts. I pray that you may torture them to your immortal heart's content. And should they die, that your claws may dig into their souls even in death."